•
VoL I., No. I., 1916.
t!tbt l\bobobtnbron &octttp �tt�.
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"' MEMBERS' NOTES FOR THE YEAR 1916.
INDEX.
PAGE. 2. RHODODENDRON CAUCASICUM, REPORT UPON, nY G. \\'. E. J.oDER i\ND J. C. WILLIAl\lS.
14. RHODODENDRON CAUCASICUM, HYBRIDS OF, BY SIR EDMUND Lomrn, Bart.
16. BORDE HILL, RHODODENDRONS AT, HY J.IF.UT.-COLONEL STEPHENSON CLARKE, C.B.
18. EAST BERGHOLT, PROVISION OF SHELTER AT, BY CHARLES EtEY.
21. HOOKER, SIR j, D., PORTRAITS OF, ETC., BY CHARLES ELEY.
22. HYBRIDIZATION, FAILURE$ AT, BY SIR EDMUND LODER, Bart.
23. LAIIELLYN, RHODODENDRONS AT, BY E. J. P. MAGOR.
25. LOGAN, WIGTOWNSHIRE, RHODODENDRONS AT, B'\' KENNETH McDOU.\LL.
27. CASTLE KENNEDY, WIGTOWNSHIRE, RHODODENDRONS AT, BY Tm� RT. HoN. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart.
29. MoNREITH, WIGTOWNSHIRE, RHODODENDRONS AT, BY THE RT. Ho:-:. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart.
31. RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM AND ITS CULTURE, BY LIF.l"l',·COlnJ.�Nl>ER J. G. MILLAIS.
35, RIVERHILL, SEVENOAKS, RHODODENDRONS AT, BY LIEUT.-(OLONEL J. M. ROGERS.
36. RosTREVOR HOUSE, Co. DOWN, RHODODENDRONS AT, BY LI.EUT.-COLONEL Ross K.C.B. SIR JonN oF BLADENseuRc,
39. CHINESE RHODODENDRONS IN CORNWALL, BY P. D. 'WILLIAMS. 1 ll I.. No. I.. 1916. REPORT UPON RHODODENDRON CAUCASICUM AND ITS HYBRIDS.
It will be remembered that at a meeting of the Rhododendron Society, held on October12th, 1916, it was decided that a small Committee should beappointed to enquire as to the known forms of pure Rhododendron caucasicum species ; and secondly, as to what hybrids of interest have been raised, and why the work was given up. Messrs.J. C. Williams and G.W. E. Loder consented to report upon the species, and Sir Edmund Loder agreed to deal with the hybrids. With regard to Rhododendron caucasicum, attention is naturally drawn to this species and to its hybrids, by the Rhododendron which perhaps gives pleasure to the greatest number of people of all the countless Rhododendron species and hybrids, namely, Rh. Nobleanum. Readers of gardening books and papers, and visitors to gardens in the different parts of the country, will have been struck by the evidence that R.caucasicum flowers early in the year, and again late in the year, also by the wide area over which it is grown. They will probably have noticed the evidence in many places of .considerable work by hybridisers in former days, whilst in recent times it has been abandoned. The hybrids we know well from this cross all hold their own and rather more, and there is none of the harshness in colour which is so often the brand of the catawbiense crosses. The caucasicum species and many of its hybrids have a few very marked features common to most of them. In the first place, the very erect form of the seed truss, also the readiness with which most of them will strike from cuttings, compared with other large leaved varieties (an instance of which, with regard to Cunningham's white, is given by Mr. Watson, on page 72 of his book, in the " Present-Day Gardening" series). There is a strong tendency to produce a yellow strain in their colouring, of which there are many forms; and also the inclination, referred to above, to give flower in the autumn as well as in the spring. Further, the varieties which are apparently nearest to the true species, ripen their seed earlier than any other Rhododendron, in some cases the pod will burst in July. The following hybrids, not yet in commerce, have been raised by Messrs. Cunningham & Fraser :- CAUCASICUM X CAMPYL0CARPUM. CAUCASICUH X TH0MPS0NI. Cunningham's SULPHUR X CAMPYL0C.ARPUM. 2 Gtbe Bbobobrnbron 6odttp .flottt.
So far as is known, these have not yet flowered. By the courtesy of their respective writers, to whom the thanks of the Society are due, it has been possible to attach to this report three letters from Professor Bayley Balfour, two from Mr. P. D. Williams, and an extract from a letter of Mr. E. H. Wilson's, all of which are of great interest. There is also included the results of a search of a num her of books in which references to Rh. caucasicum, its varieties and its hybrids, are to be found. They could, no doubt, be added to, As far as they go, they do not di�dose much information about the hybrids, which, as Mr. Bean points out (Vol. II., p. 349), are so numerous in gardens. G. W. E. LODER. January, 1917. J. C. WILLIAMS.
Mr. W. J. Bean, in a letter to Mr. Eley dat<'cl 20th July, 1917, writes: " In the most interesting and valuable article on R. CAUCASICUM and its hybrids, I am afraid that I am made to appear as having considNed R. CAUCASlCUM and R. CIIRYSANTHUM to be varieties of one i-pccics. The fault no doubt is mine in not having made it sufficiently clear in my hook at the place cited, but, as a matter of fact, I have never f<.'R�mh• 3 tt:bt l\bobobtnbron 6ocittp J}otti. REFERENCE TO RHODODENDRON CAUCASICUM, BY VARIOUS AUTHORITIES, COLLATED BY G. W. E. I.ODER and J.C. WILLIAMS. RnouoDENDRON CAUCASJCUM, PALLAS. SYN. Ru. C.-\UCASEUl\l. Introduced in 1803. Plate in Pallas " FLORA ROSSICA," 31 (published 1784). Bot. Mag., 1145. Mr. W. J. Bean, in" TREES ,\ND SHRUBS HARDY IN THE BRITISH ISLES," Vol. II., p. 349, gives the following information :- RH. CAUCASICUll, 2 feet, flowers yellowish-white or with a pale lilac tinge, produced during June, and the following varieties .mrlhybrids are enumerated:- CHRYSANTHUM, PALLAS. There is a plate of this in Pallas" FLORA ROSSICA," No, 31. From Siberia and N .E. Asia, nearly allied to Rh. caucasicum, yellow flowers, and differs in its smaller leaves, quite smooth on both surfaces. Very unsatisfactory in cultivation, and never seen in flower by Mr. Bean. CAUCASICUM PJCTUM. " Nearly allied to" caucasicum. ' CuNNINGHA?.1'sWHITE, raised by James Cunningham, of Comely Bank, about 1830, between caucasicum and ponticum album. (Syn. caucasicum album.) l., NoBLEANUM (caucasicum x arboreum). Bot. Reg. 1820. PULCHERRIMUM (caucasicum X arboreum), Bot. Reg. 1820. , ROSA �IUNOI. " Very near caucasicum in leaf and habit." STRAMINEUM. Pale· yellow flowers. Bot. Mag,, 3422. SULPHUREUM (caucasicum x arboreum album). Raised at Cunningham a� Fraser's Nursery, Comely Bank, Edinburgh. VENUSTUM. Raised by Mr. W. Smith, of Norbiton, near Kingston, between caucasicum and arboreum. JACKSON!. "An identical plant," said to come from caucasicum crossed with Nobleanum, raise,l by Mr. Jackson, also of Kingston. (N.B.-Professor Bayley Balfour writes that there are twu Rhododendrons known as Jacksoni in gardens, and states that Rh. chrysanthum is quite a distinct species. See letter dated 8th November, 1916, attached.) Schneider, in Vol. II., p. 482 (published 1912), gives Flavidum, Regel, as a variety of caucasicum, and enumerates the following hybrids :- CAUCASICUY X CATAWBJENSE . .. CUNNINGHAM'S WHITE " (no parentage given). CAUCASICUM X PONTICUM=" CAUCASICUM HYBRIDUM." CAUCASICUM X ARBOREUM=l>ULCHERRIMUM and NOBLEANUM. RH. CHRYSANTHUPtl, PALLAS, is given as a separate species not as a variety of caucasicum. 4 att,e l\bobobrnbron 6odetp jlott1t Loudon. in "ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM," Vol. II., p. 1138 (published 1838, gives :-- CA UCASICU:M, PALLAS, with a small wood-cut. The flowers are described as " purple or white." And the following varieties :- STRAMINEUM, HooK. "Flowers straw-coloured." PULCHERRIMUM, LINDL. (arboreum x caucasicum). 11 A hybrid raised by Waterer, of Knaphill, in 1832.'' Bot. Reg., 1820. NoBLEANUM, HoRT., 11 a hybrid very much like the preceding one in all respects except that its flowers are of a bri11iant rose colour." Bot. Reg., 1820. The plate of pulcherricum above referred to (l 8201 in the Botanical Register), is like what would presumably be called Nobleanum. ln the corner of the plate is onejlou·er of a darker colour. said to be Nobleanum. At the Ordinary Meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, on Febntary 5th, 1838, "Mr. George Glenny exhibited a Rhododendron said to have been raised by himself from seed. It did not appear different from a variety raised some years since by Mr. Waterer, of Knaphill, and called in the gardens Rh. pulcherrimum.'' Pritzel refers to the following plates connected with caucasicum: CAUCASICUM, PALLAS, PALLAS FLOR., Ross, 31 Guimpel Fr. Holzgf:rw 12t Bot. Mag., 1145. CAUCASICUM variety STRAMINEUM. Bot. Mag., 3422. CAUCASICUM variety HYBRIDUl\l ALBUM. Bot. Mag., 3811. CAUCASICO-ARBOREUM, Hort., Maund Bot., 4. 157. This shows a pink-white Rhodo. with spotted throat ancl is stated to have been raised by Mr. Smith, of Norbiton. It is synonymous with venustum, Sec Sweet, series 2.t.285. CHRYSAN'rHUM, PALLAS. Pallas Flor. Ross. 30. Wooov. Med. Vol. III., p. 149 {the plate is much the same as that in Pallas). BERL. YAHRB. 1811. 2. Gurr.tPEL FR. HoLZGEW. 123. HAYNE. 10.27. NEES DUSSELD. 216. GUIMPEL ET SCHL. 42. In· addition to the above there is a plate of caucasico-venustum 1 ' RosALBA" in Flore des serres, Vol. X., plate 103�. This �how5 a pink-white flowered rhododendron, but no account is given of its origin. In "GARTENFLORA," Vol. XVIII., 1869, p. 113, reference is mane to Rhodo. caucaseum-splendens and Rhodo. caucasicum. albo-roseum, hut no mention is made of their origin, and there is no plate. ; In u GARTENFLORA," Vol. XV 1., 1867, p. 322, a de5cription is given of Rhodo. caucasicum, Pallas, variety. flavidum, and a plate, No. 560, which shows a 5 1tbt l\lJobobtnbron 6odttp .flotts. 1 Rhodo. light�yellow in colour with green spots in the throat. Regal in his note / on this Rhodo. appears to draw distinctions between flavidum,stramineum, and chrysanthum. Maund's "BoTANIC GAI in diameter, have the extremities of their fine leafy branches terminated with "' an umbel of large beautiful straw-coloured flowers, forming a striking contrast with the rich scarlet of other kinds of Rhododendron already beginning to show their blossoms in the same border. If the Rh. Chrysanthum had been a common plant in our collections, I should have thought our present one might have been an offspring from it and the true Caucasicum," etc., etc., etc. From Withers. RHODO CAUCASICUM. A pretty spreading or decumbent Caucasian species, about 1 ft. high. Leaves lance-shaped, ovate or obovate, rusty beneath. Flowers in August, rosy outside, white within, spotted with green, more or less bell-shaped. There are varieties with white, rose, and pale yellow flowers. RHODO CHRYSANTHUf.l. A dwarf Siberian shrub,.with linear lance-shaped leaves', rusty beneath, and narrowed into a long stalk. Flowers in summer, golden yellow, about 1 in. across, broadly bell-shaped, in terminal clusten. To keep this plant in good condition, it should always have a good layer of Sphagnum }loss around the stems and. covering the soil. PROl'ESSOR BAYLEY BALFOUR TO MR. j, C. WJLLIAMI, 19'4 Ot:lober, 1916. DEAR Ma. WILUAMs,-lt is splendid that you and Mr. G. Loder aretackling RH. CAUcAs1qu11 and its forms, and l hope you will shed light upon a complex problem. You have a starting point in two species-the Caucasian Ru. CAUCASICUM and the Siberian RH. CHRYSANTHUM. The former white and pink flowered and with a fine velvety indumentum. The latter yellow flowered and with an inconspicuous hardly developed indumenturnu pon an evident reticulately veined leaf surface. They were species of early introduction--cAUCASICUM said to be 1803, CHRYSANTHUM. 1796. There were few hybridising species available for some years after these appeared. That they were frequently crossed I have little doubt, and I have as little doubt that the yellow colour of all the so-called CAUCASICUM is derived from CHRYSANTHUM. Whence otherwise could it come ? There was of course FLAVUM and t be colour factor of FLAVUM may have held in RH. CAUCASICUM after other inftuences, if they ever impressed CAUCASICUM, had disappeared. But the essential in all descents from CAUCASICUM seems to me to be that a yellow CAUCAS[CUM is a hybrid. I think Hooker's suggestion under t. 34:22, of the Bot. Mag. is not far wrong-CAUCASICUM variety STRAMINEA of the figure " might have been an offspring from it (CHRYSANTHUM), and the true CAll<.:ASICUM," Both bloods are in it. And you must reme.mber that though Rn. CHRYSANTHUM is a rare plant-the dourest of the dour-yet it does floweroccasionally. as it did here this season, and that it is to be found in cultivation. A nice plant of it came to me this year from a nurseryman under the name c,nrcASICUM. That the so-ea.lied CAl'CASICUM in cultivation is·a mongrel I have had proof abundantly. Never have we got a pure .- bairn from CAUCASICUM seed acquired in dillerent quarter.:- -anything from pink flowered to yellow flowered offspring. I ha,·c now a nke pan of it from T mbc l\bobobtnbron �ocidp J}otc�. Petrograd seeds, of which I have hopes, and that I may sec the true CAUCASICU:t-t at last. Further evideuc\' of its hybrid character is tu be found in the indumentum. :\Jot one of the plants that we have had as C\UCASICUM has typical L\UL\'i!ClJ:\I indumcntnm. All of them show an approach to Cl!RYS.-\:--Tl!U"l. .\part from the indumenturn the somatic characters of culti vated C.\UC.\SICU�l arc n}l)l"C those of CAlJl"ASICUM than of CIIRYS.-\NTHUM. l'erhap� 1ws.\-'.tU:-;01 is the most chrysanthoid in body of the named hybrids, and it is essentially ca11casicoicl in flower. Bot. �lag., tab. I J 15, is a curious plant. No true CAUCAsrcu�r has a \'enation such as is shown on the leaves of the illustration. The plant recalls several unnamed hybrids which have been in cultivation for half a century here. To your question then: How many forms of CAUC.\SICUM are in cultivation? l would answer--to my knowledge, none ! There are only hybrids. In illustration of the mixed progeny that comes from CAUCASICU�I. here is a scheme based upon what I have learned from Mr. Fraser, of Cunningham and Fraser:- X red .\RBOREUM= NoBLEANUr.I. CAUCASICUM � ' white NoBLEANUM (yellow) x white ARBOREUIII= ) CUNNINGHAM'S SULPHUR (1882) I (UNNINGH.-\M'S WHITE (1820-30) I gather that the CAUCASICUM white .-\RBOREUM cross gave dominant white NOBLEANU�I and recessive CUNNINGl!,Ul'S SULPHUR. The female parent in all was evidently the hybrid, not the true pink CAUCASICU)t. This you will recognise is most important. Mr. Fraser tells me that all these CAVCASICUM crosses give fertile seed and breed true. Certainly CuNNJNGHM,t's SULPHUR comes true from seed, and probalily it is rct.:oll1·ction of comment upon this that has left the impression upon your mind of its being a true species.• It seems to me that here as in others of these Jong cultivated plants, a new record will have to be hcgun if we are to solve the problem of their real relationships. Systematic breeding from plants raised from seed of undoubted true wild species must be carried out. ISAAC BAYLEY BALFOUR. PROFESSOR BAYLEY BALFOUR TO MR. j. C. WILLIA)lS. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, EDll\llURGII, ' 2Ath October, 1916. DEAR ?IIR. W1u.1.n1s,--The seedling ca11casicums have reached you, I am glad to hear, and I hope are to prove to hP the true spccit\S. Their source is promising. I'hopc 1 ha,·c not misled you about .! The archives of the Petrogract Hcrbarium will have to be searched to obtain a "' complete picture of the area which it is recorded as covering. The information I ha,·e gathered tells of its occurrence from the Altai on the west, eastwards along the snow ridges of Sajan, then arouncl Lake Baikal a.ml down the Amur, in fact, along the Sihcrian-Mongolian·nlnndmrian J>ivi PROFESSOR BAYLEY BALFOUR TO MR. G. W. E. LODER. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN; EDINBURGH, 8th November, 1916. DEAR MR. LoDER,-Thank you very much for letting me see the notes upon RH. CAUCASICUM, which I take it pretty well include all that is on record about CAUCASICUM. RH. CHRYSANTHUM is quite a distinct species. You refer to the colour of the flower in Pa11as's figure, and the contrast with the description is striking, but I note that those white-pink Rhododendrons often take on, as they olden, this lilac colour. As regards my mention of the two jACKSONI's, our old jACKSONI, which has been here as long as I can remember, is a plant which strikes me as being a secondary hybrid from NoBLEANt'M. It is a more useful plant than XonLEANUM. It comes into flowerabout a fortnight later, an 9 «bt l\bobobtnbton &odttp j}ott�. As you will have noticed, Ru. NonLEANUM is invariably eaten by beetles. So marked a feature is this of the plant that at a distance you can recognise a NonLEANUM or a plant with NoBLEANUM blood in it by the gnawed leaves. The old jACKSONI has this feature only in a limited degree. ARB0REUM does not show this character markedly. Whence EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF MR. E. H. WILSON TO MR. J. c. WILLIAMS, dated 9th November, l!:.116. It is surprising to me to learn through your letter of October 14th, that anyone should consider Rh. chrysanthum a form of l{h. caucasicum. Rh. chrysanthum as I know it on the high mountains of Northern Japan, is a low shrub with pale yellow flowers, anti l cannot see that it has anything to do with Rh. caucasicum, with its white and pink tluwers as figured in Bot. l\lag., tab. 1145. As far as my studies go, I have no knowledge of any Caucasian plant being represented by form or variety in the tlora of Eastern or North-Eastern Asia. EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF MR. P. D. WILLIA!ltS TO MR. c. c. ELEY, dated 6th January, 1917. The late Mr. Claud Dauhm,, a neighbour of mine, sent the grafts of what he called Rh. Nobleanum venustum to Rogers, a nurseryman( of Southampton, and doubtless he can supply plants. It is more upright than some forms of Noblca11um. This plant is the earliest floweringform of Rh. Nooleanum, and paler than most, assuming that it is a form of Nobleanum, and I group it with Nobleanum. 10 Gtbt l\bobobtnbron 6otittp J!otti. Rh. ,·enustum I do not know as a separate plant, but NobJeanum venustum is a plant of character, an A LETTER FROM PROFESSOR BAYLEY BALFOUR TO MR, C. C, ELEY, dated January 16th, 1917. DEAR l\lR. ELEY,-It always gives me pleasure to have letters from you about plants. If I help you by giving such information as I can, I too, benefit by information which you give to me, and by having to bring to focus derelict facts. Moreover, I am kept humbJe by finding there is so much to learn, even about groups to which I have given special study for some years. The Rhododendron truss arrived to-day. RH. VENUSTUM, D. Don is a hybrid ·" (CAUCASICUM x ARBORirnM), raised by Mr. Wm. Smith, in 1829 (see Sweet's Brit. FI. Gard., ser. 2, III., -1835, 286). The original description makes it a dwarf shrub, not exceeding 8 inches in height. Nothing is said about the CAUCASICUM used, and as you know the CAUCAS(CUllf (seed parent) of NonLEANU1'l and the early crosses was a yello:w CAUCASICUM and, therefore, not CAUCASICUM, but a hybrid probably C,\UCASICUM X CHRYSANTIIUM, The figure in "Sweet" recalls our true jACKSONI, but the floweris paler. NoBLEANUM is as you know a hybrid (YELLOW CAUCASICUM X RED ARBOREUM). The name NoBLEANUl\l VENUSTUM has not come my way before, but I need not discuss it as a whole or in its halves, because Mr. P. D. Williams' Rhododendron has nothing to do with eitber NoBLEANUM or VENUSTUM. It is one of the crowd of hybrids (CATAWBIENSE X ARBOREUM), which were raised in the twenties, thirties an Here we have a number of them (stems six or more inches). Cunningham and Fraser had quite a tiel In a subsequent letter to Mr. Eley, dated 21st January, Hlli, Professor Bayley Balfour writes:- " I see that the correct name is Rh. Sherwoodianum-not Shcrwoodia:-my miswriting. Lawson's Catalogue, 1858, has ' Rh. Sherwoodianum, lilac-rose spotted,' whkh is not very descriptive of i\lr. P. D. \Villiams' specimen, but who shall dispute about this ? " .I' LETTER FROM MR. I'. D. W1LL1.-u1s TO l\la. C. C. ELEY, dated 1st Febrttary, 1917. LANARTll, ST. H:EVERNE, KS.O., CORNWALL. DEAR ELEY,-1 returned yciur caucasirum papers hurriedly without a covering letter. They arc most interesting. Whether my plant is vennstum or not seems open to argument, but I do think that it is not a ratawbiense but is a caucasicum hybrid, the seed pods point to it. l\lr. Peter \'eitch talks of Rh. venustum in his books previous to 18H3, as" ,·aricty of :1\obleanum spotted," also "shaded deep pink or rose, compact truss, neat and good." This I think my plant answers to, and it is very probable that it came from Veitch, of Exeter. \Ve have no really old men in Cornwall now who arc well up in such things, but I am confident that my father and l\tr. Da11b11z (who were always very reliable about plant names), invariably called this plant N'oblcanum venusturn. Can you put a query in the notes asking if anyone has any knowledge or even recollection of such a plant ? I would also ask for information on " Rh. cinnamoneum var. C1111ninghami " (cinnamoneum x maximum), raised by Mr. G. Cunningham, of the Nursery, Liverpool. Wonderful truss,' pure white, purple spots, leaves covered with abundant resinous secretion rendering them sticky to the touch. P. D. WILLIAMS. 12 �bt l\bobobtnbron &ocidp J!ott�. EXTRACT FROM A LETTER FROM l'ROFESSOR BAYLEY BALFOUR TO MR. J. C. W1LLI1UIS, DEAR MR. Wn'.tlAMS,- -Jn the matter of Hu. CAUC\SICl'M, I see that Lawson's {Charles Lawson & Sons, prominent nurserymen of Scotland, in the middle of last century), give in their Rhodoclendron Catalogue of J�f,8 (I have Tio doubt that the preparation of this was the work of Mr. William Gorric, a noted gardener of that date who was their Manager), the following:- Rn. CAUCASICUM, Pallas. Native of the Caucasian !\fountains, near the perpetual snow line. Height 1 ft. to 2 ft. Peat soil, in cool, partly shaded situations. CAUC:\SICUJ\I ,\LBUM. Fine early white. ANGUSTIFOLIUM. White. INVOLUTUM. Straw-coloured. P1CTu:.11. Peach colour, much spotted with red. PURDIE'S WHITE. Shaded with rose. ROSEUM. Rich rose. STAMINEUM. Pale straw-colour. VENUSTUM. VENUSTUM was first described by David Don, in Sweet's "BRITISH FLOWER GARDEN," as a plant of 8 inches high. Lawson's also have the following:- " CHRYSANTHUM, fine yellow." l\lcLelland, of Newry, whom Smith, of Newry, succeeded, has in his catalogue of 1881-1882, the following:-- CAUCASICUM. Yellowish-white (wants shade). ALBUM. (Cunningham's white), dwarf. PICTUM. Pink RHODODENDRON CAUCASICUM AND HYBRIDS. CONTRIBUTED BY S1R EDMUND LODER, Bart. The earliest figure I can find of Rhododendron caucasicum is in Pallas' " FLORA Ross1cA," published in 1784. The coloured plate shows pale lilac flowers, but the description says" alba vel subru.bens." Pallas also gives a coloured plate of Rhododendron chrysanthum, which I take to be a near relation of Rhododendron caucasicum. Rhododendron Przwalski must also be nearly related. Another early coloured plate of Rhododendron caucasicum was published in the" BOTANICAL MAGAZINE," about the beginning of the last century. Plate 1146. Here the corolla is shown white, within tinged with rose on the outside surface. Some years later, in 1836, there wa�!publishedin the" BoTANICAJ..MAGAZINE," a coloured plate, No. 3422, of Rhododendron caucasicum var. stramineum showing a straw-coloured flower. It is like the form figured as Rhododendron caucasicum, in Maund" BOTANIC GARDEN," No. 947. I do not know who was the first to make crosses with Rhododendron caucasicum and other species, but Mr. Peter Veitch, of Exeter, tells me that he has an old Nursery List Book of his grandfather's time, and he finds under No. · 167, Rhododendron caucasicum hybrid= Rh. ochroleucum. There is unfortunately no record of the other parent. There i1 also mentioned Rhododendron caucasicwn Ramsayanum. In thisold list book thereis much evidence of hybridwork with Rhododendron caucuicum, but the notes are not there which would show parentage. A man named Abbey has raised hybrids of Rhododendron caucasicurn and Rhododendron Aucklandi, and Mr. Peter Veitch has bought this stock. So far he has only distributed one of these hybrids, viz. "Dr. Stocker." In Vol. X., No. 103_8 (1856), " FLORE DE SERRES," there is coloured plate of a very beautiful Rhododendron under the name of RH. ROSALBA (Rhododendron caucasicum-venustum), but no details of its parentage are given. It is possible that this is the source of the well-known Rh. venustum, which is probably identical with Rh. Jacksoni (Rh. caucasicum X Rh. arboreum). The other equally well-known hybrid, Rh. Nobleanum, being Rh. arboreum X Rh. caucasicum. Among the earlier hybrids is Rh. govenianum, which is a cross between Aia.Jea nudiiloraand a hybrid between Rh. ponticum and Rb. caucasicum. Some years ago I bought in Edinburgh, a quantity of hybrids of Rhododendron caucaaicum. "Rh. Stanwellianum "=Rh. caucasicum X Rh. catawbiense. "Rh. Stanwellianum robustum" = Rh. caucasicum X Rh. tlrfJe 1\bobobtnbron 6atidp l!otef. campanulatum robustum, also Rh. Thomsoni X Rh. caucasicum, and Rh. arboreum album x Rh. caucasicum. All these are very ood.g I think it is obvious tbat many of the light coloured Rhododendrons now common in gardens are crosses of Rh. caucasicum. Such as" Snowball,"" The Bride," "caucasicum pictum," "Cunningham's White." A Rhododendron from Comely Bank, Edinburgh, called Rhododendron sulphureum is said to be a hyhnd between Rhododendron caucasicum and Rhododendron arboreum alhum. In my opinion, this plant is not a hybrid, but a seedling variety of Rhododendron caucasicum. I believe J. C. Williams has some large plants of Rh. cauc�icum stramineun x Rh. campylocarpum. My plants of the same cross are smaller. It will be of interest to put on record the early ripening of this seed. In this climate Rhododendron seed is usually ripe in early spring, but in the middle of October I found the seed pods open, and about half the seeds gone. This would be four to five months earlier than I should have expected to find ripe seed. This is the only case of the kind which has occurred here. Some years ago I raised a large batch of seedlings of Rh. ochroleucum (which is a hybrid of Rh. caucasicum), and Rh. Aucklandi. The notable point about this batch is its extreme unevenness. Some are fine plants, of vigorous growth, handsome foliage and large loose trnss. Other plants of the same batch are miserable things, with thin yellow foliage and stunted growth. After a sufficient trial these have been rooted up and thrown away, but the reason why they should differ from the others has not been discovered. EDMUND GILES LODER. lfi Utbe l\lJobobenbron 6otietp J!otest NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS AT BORDE HILL, DURING 1916 . . , CoNTRIB_unm BY L1EuT.-CoLONEL Sn:PH�NSON CLARKE, C.B. During the very mild January, Rh. Dauricum bloomed better than I have seen it bloom here before, a plant of a deciduous variety as usual being far better than a nearly c,·erg-reen one in the same bed. Before the winter had ended or rather before it began in March, a species hought from J. \'citch & Sons, Coomhe Wood, as R11000DENDRO!'. l 17 «lt,e l\1)obobenbron 6odetp J!otrt5. SOME NOTES ON THE GARDEN AT EAST BERGHOLT PLACE. CoNTRIBUTED BY CH/JU.ES ELEY. This garden consists of a small ancient garden and the additions which have been made to it since 1875, the greater part of which has been done from 1900 onwards. The site, about 130 feet above sea level, is an exposed one for the most part, consequently a large part of the work has consisted in planting, undertaken to secure that shelter which is necessary to the comfort of most plants, and almost vital to the successful growing of rhododendrons. With the exception of a few old hardy hybrids, there are no rhododendrons here more than about twelve years old, and the only point worthy of note is that a fair number of the Himalayan varieties are progressing steadily, having been planted here about nine years, and are believed to constitute the only plants of their kind in this dry and cold neighbourhood. There are also a good number of small rhododendrons from the collections of Henry,Wilson, and Forrest, for most of which the owner is indebted to members of the Rhododendron Society. It follows from this that there is little to recount regarding the rhododendrons here, and what little of interest in this respect there may be, may well wait until, in some future year, Notes are again required. But in order to qualify for a copy of the Society's Notes, even if it has to be taken with a blush, the writer will attempt some remarks upon the composition of &helter belts in gardens, in the hope that it may provoke other members to enlarge upon the possibilities. Visitors for the first time to that Meccah of gardeners, Cornwall, must often have been driven by despair to the conclusion that they would do well on their return to bum all their books and to begin anew. On recovery from the first shock, consideration will force upon them that the amazing resultsproduced there are fundamentally based upon an almost prodigal use of that shelter which is so conspicuously absent from the design of most English gardens, particularly old ones, and is absent, no doubt, for the reason that the makers did not contemplate the cultivation or rare trees or shrubs, but strove to obtain a fine and comfortable frame for their homes, supplying the necessary colour by the use of bulbs, roses and, in later times, of lierbaceous plants. Naturally, it is necessary that the plants for shelter purposes should be ornamental, quite hardy and absolutely dense to the ground ; neither greedr, of soil, nor of •ttention; of requisite height, easy to obtain cheaply, and If possible " rabbit proof." So much for the counsel of _perfection, now for the other thing. Leaving the favoured west altogether out of consideration, one plant alone, the common laurestinus, seems to fill the bill, and that requires to be trans- 18 r Gtbe l\lJobobenbron i,otittp Jlote•. planted early in the season to avoid failures. and is of somewhat slow growth. Still, what a plant it is ! Next in order of merit one would place Arundinaria metake, the best of all for situations under trees, even beeches; but deficient in height and slow except in moist and loamy soil; A. anceps runs it close, and has the advantage in height, colour and grace, but its habit of "running .. needs a ditch or some preventitive, which rubsoff some of the gilt. The mention of growth beneath beeches, calls to mind the fact that that dreary plant, Thujopsis dolobrata, will undertake this duty if required. In light soil, the large leaved variety (and some of the variegated ones), of the common holly is hard to beat, but it needs protection from rabbits for some years, and indeed always unless foliage is maintained close to the ground, as of course it should be for shelter. EscALLONIA MACRANTHA is quite hardy here in situations which are bone dry in winter, e.g., on the top of a sunk fence. Perhaps " too slow " will be the verdict of many in regard to the above list, and this charge brings into notice the common laurel (v. rotundifolia for choice), of many merits, and probably the most universally used for the purpose, but, and a large " but " too, it has many disadvantages also. The rapidity of its growth is almost certainly the main reason for its use as a wind-screen, because its tendency to get leggy compels work with the knife. or even the detestable shears. But, if room allows, the laurel can be planted with a "front .. of other small evergreen plants (e.g., Mahonia aquifolium-the easiest and most effective combination known to the writer), which will obviate the necessity of maiming a plant which demands to be left in peace to display its really grand form. The mention of the combination of two or more plants for this purpose opens up much ground, and a subject upon which the writer would be very glad to know the experiences of other members. Does anyone know a plant suitable to front Arbutus unedo, and which. would not be crushed out as time went on? But amongst the plants which suggest themselves for the front row of such work the following may be mentioned :- PERNETTYA MUCRONATA. This plant requires a cool bottom, and is inclined to run, but it is apparently quite ., rabbit proof."' Always neat and with channing berries. ULEX NANUS on dry soils, uninteresting, but dense and easy of control. The old-fashioned Scotch roses. Box, BAY, EL 4. ft.), should pro\'c useful. Also B. gagnepainii, B. levis anll B. Hookcri, all of which are distincti\'c enough to gi\'c a valUl!ll change of form am\ colour. The two last genera appear to be rabbit proof. That desiral,lt: weed, the e,·ergn:l!ll pri\'d, is omitted frum tl1is list, as wdl as the aucubas, and als1, that large army of c,·,:rgree11s which ti;11,l to assume the form of a triangle standing on its apex. If great height is re11uired, aud k-,1\'iug aside all deciduous trees, the following are invaluable :- PsEll IJ0TSUGA Dour.L:\Sll V,\R. 1;1.Al!C'A (the type is 0111itted because of the immense room that it demands, allll its lial,ility to damage by winu). PICEA mlORIKA and l'KL\ ::iill'IIENSIS. Of course 1-'lNUS LARICIO aud .I'.. \USTHI.\C\, arc an unbeaten combination, with the latter planted in froni. h'.alibits luvc l'inus austriaca, but l'. larit:iu seems immune except when planted in \'l'ry k.1.rc ground. LrnorEDHUS ))ECURRl·:Ns or jUNll-'EHUS CIIINENSIS, either as a mammoth hedge or in an irregular group. CurRESSUs MACROC\HI'.-\, of which the golden variety is bclicn! 20 tll:bt l\bobobtnbron �ocittp J}otts. PORTRAITS OF SIR J. D. IIOOKER, ETC. (ONTRJRUTET> HY CHARLES ELEY, I was indebted to l\1r. J. C. Williams for a CO)>_\'of" Tm: (;ARDEN l\L\GAZrNE," for June, 1916, published by Doubleday, l'age & Co., <;anlen City, New York (price, 15 cents). It contains an excellent article on Hanly Rho CONTRIBUTED BY SIR EDMUND LODER, Bart. Failures come often, and it may be of use to nole down some of them. I have often tried to cross hardy Rhododendrons with Rh. Edgworthi, but it is only rarely that I have got any result at all. Many times I have crossed Rh. Fortunei with Rh. Edgworthi and Rh. Edgworthi with Rh. Fortunei, but, up to date, I have never had any fertile seeds. Nor have I succeeded in raising a cross between Rh. Aucklandi and Rh. Edgworthi. (Rh. ciliatum crosses with Rh. Edgworthi easily enough.) I have flowered crosses between Rh. Thomsoni and Rh. Edgworthi, but result was very poor. A small truss of nearly white flowers and without scent. A cross between Rh. Ascot Brilliant and Rh. Edgworthi is not much better, a small pink truss without scent. For many years I have been trying to get crosses with Rh. Boothi, and with one possible exteption, these attempts have all been failures. I' have tried it both ways with Rh. campylocarpum, but so far without result. We have flowered here crosses between Rh ... Loder's White" (one of Man�les's many Rh. Aucklandi hybrids}. and Rh. Aucklandi, with the idea of obtaining_ larger flowers. The result has been disappointing, the flowers being smaller than in either parent. Thishas been the case in many attempts with Rh. Aucklandi hybrids. Perhaps some members of our Society, more skilful than I am, will be able to teach us how to succeed where I have failed. EDMUND GILES LODER. 22 tltbt l\fJobobmbron 6ociet, 1!ote1. REPORT ON LAMELLYN GARDEN. CoNTRJBUTED BY E. J. P. MAGOR, The garden is situated some six miles from the north coast of Cornwall, about nine miles from Tintagel. It is a narrow wooded valley facing north-west, and sheltered from the east by rising �round above, and to some extent from the prevailing north-west wind by a high hill intersecting its mouth. The soil is a heavy loam for the most art, in some parts very shallow, and overlies slaty shale, save in the centre o f the valley where there la blue clay underneath. Rhododendron culture here owes its inception to a sight of Rh. grande (argenteum), in flower in the Temperate House, at Kew, in the year 1900. The collecting of many Sikkim and other species from various sources followed, and l I first attempts at hybridization were made in 1905. In this, in the raising and I culture of seedlings, in a continuous supply of Chinese and other seed, I owe more ,, than I can say to the kindness and generosity of Mr. J. C. Williams. The best plant in the garden is Rh. Keiskei, which Is about ll ft. high and 21 ft. across. It is a Japanese evergreen plant of compact habit, and pale yellow flowerslike those of Rh. Triflorum ; but blooms much earlier, usually in February. Rh. Veitchi and Rh. Nuttalli are not hardy here, and I fear that Rh. Oxyphyllum is hopeless. Dut of other tender varities, Rh. Cbampionz, Rh. Dalhousire, Rh. Edgeworthi and Rh. Ciliicalyx, have so far survived against a wall; and in the open Rh. Hybrid Countess of Haddington, Rh. Hybrid Fragrantissimum, Rh. Hybrid Sesterianum, Rh. Hybrid Exoniense, Rh. Boothi, Rh. Maddeni, Rh. Calophytum, and Rh. Formosum. Rh. Crassum and Rh. bullatum, the Chinese forms of Rh. Maddeni and Rh. Edgeworthi, seem to be hardier than their Sikkim relatives. During the great gale of November, 1915, a very large elm tree fell on several of these sweet-scented varieties and on my only plant of Rh. Hookeri, and severely damaged them. The following speciesflowered here for the first timethis year :- Irroratum forma, from Tali, ten to twelve flowers in a well-shaped truss, corolla openly companulate 21 x 2 inches, white tinged with yellow at the base and much spotted. Adenogynum (5871F), six to eight flowers in a spreading umbel, corolla very widely companulate 3 x 2} inches, white with crimson markings. A fine flower on a dwarf plant. Rh. Thomsoni and Rh. arboreum album set fine pods of seed to pollen from this. Adenopodum, six to eight flowers in a loose truss, corolla pale roseunspotted, 2 x 2! inches. Rretti (1520W), six to eight flowers in a loose truss, corolla dull white, unspotted, 2 x 2! inches. 23 1tbt l\bobobtnbron i,,otittp ,Bott�. Sphaeranthum (or ledioides ?), (11246F), a small leaved high alpine, ten to twelve flowers in a compact umble, clear rose, unspotted, l x i inch. A most attractive little plant with flowers resembling a daphne. Rh. (4238W), reputed a form of Augustinii, flowered for the second time, and is the most beautiful lavender blue I have seen. Rh. prostratum (6862F), flowered a�ain, and I have a number of seedlings from it x fastigiatum, but it- is yet too early to see whether the cross has taken. The most noteworthy of the hybrids raised here are as follows: Campylocarpum x Aucklandi, usually with a pale lemon flower, but one plant produced this year flowers of a rnrious pink tingc 24 Gtbe l\bobobtnbron 6odetp j!ote•. ·�l NOTES ON THE GARDEN AT LOGAN, WIGTOWNSHIRE, SCOTLAND. ' CONTRIBUTED BY KENNETH McDOUALL. !r The Rhododendrons now growing here contain most of the Indian species in cultivation, some hybrids, and a good many Chinese varieties : the former are still in their infancy, and the latter, grown from Wilson's seed, are quite young plants. All however are growing remarkably well, and many have already flowered. That these plants will grow and do well in this district there is little doubt, provided they are guarded against the evils, which unless protected from, would seriously damage their health : the first, if there is wind, they must have com parative shelter from the violent gales which blow during the winter months from south-west, west, and north-west, and in the spring, east and south-east winds must be kept off. Here, where we have the sea all round us, only a mile distant to the west, and a mile away. to the east, it is not possible to find a spot as sheltered as one would wish. Then late frosts which in some years occur in April and May, fortunately not often, do much damage to the young growing shoots of the Rhododendrons. Drought also must be guarded against, especiallywhen the plants are young, and in recent years we have experienced some dry summers here. We have to protect the plants too against roe-deer, as the bucks single out these Rhododendrons to rub their horns on, and have completely destroyed several plants in this way. They will also eat the leaves, and I have seen young Rhodo dendrons completely stripped of their leaves by roe-deer, and never able to recover, though the wood and buds had not been touched. For some time I had been looking for a new site for my Himalayan Rhododendrons, where the troubles that I have just mentioned would be minimised, and felt that if they were to be moved at all the time had arrived to do it. They are now in their new quarters, moved there last November, where I think they will have many advantages over the old. I hesitated long about moving them, because they were doing so well, yet I was not quite satisfied, the situation was too low, moreover, rock was near the surface, and the soil was apt to becomedry in summer, while in spring, late frosts sometimes caught the young growth. I felt there should be a remedy for these things. Before deciding upon the new site I transplanted there two Rh. Aucklandi, leaving the other where it was ; this specieswas' the only one which always lost some of its growing shoots. The two plants received no check, while the other one suffered as usual. The success of this experiment decided me to move all the Indian Rhododendrons with the exception of Rh. arboreum. The new site is on a steep hill slope facing north-east, and is a clearing in a wood. The soil is a good sandy loam, well drained, yet retensive of moisture ; the atmosphere is moist and more than a few degrees of frost should not bother the Rhododendrons here ; the early morning sun will.not shine on the plants after a night of frost. The place, too, is sheltered from the wind to a great extent though not so much as I would like. Here 26 IndianRhododendrons should flourishundisturbed ahnost as well ason their·�wn mountains. To mention a few of the Himalayan Rhododendrons that usually flower well here most years. RH.' FALCONERI had 48 blooms last year. RH. CAMPY J.OCARPUII, of which I have three plants, the flowers vary,very much, one being magnificent, the other two not nearly so good either in colour or fonn. RH. KEYSII is very free flowering, I removed 850 bunches of seed heads last year, with six to eight pods on each ; the plant is 6 ft. high. RH. ARBOREUM, these areolder than the othersand alwaysflower well, and are trulybeautiful with their many shades of bright colours and handsome foliage. RH. KEWliNSE- in its best form is a splendid Rhododendron, so is RH. GAUNTLETT! and RH. MANGLESII. RH. EoowoRTHI flowers well, it is a beautiful thing and very sweet•scented. RH. FRAGRANTJSSJMA is as good. Ru. "COlJNTESS OF HADDINGTON" is remark ably free to flower, but this sometimes gets its buds frosted so that they do not all open. RH. DALHOUSIANUK, I think will succeed in its new quarters, for it openedits flowers well two yearsago. One Chinese Rhododendron RH. oJtcoatJM is most attractive. RH. nRACHYCARPUM, from Japan, less so. I should be interested to know anything of Rh. auriculatum, I am told that this species from China flowers in the autumn. I know nothing of it, but have · got one healthy young plant. KENNETH. McDOUALL. J, 26 tltbt l\fJobobtnbron 6otitt,, J!ot�. CASTLE KENNEDY, WIGTOWNS HIRE. CONTRIBUTED BY THE RIGHT HoN. S�R HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart. This fine demesne, in which stands the modern mansion of Lochinch, the residence ofthe Earl of Stair (now a prisoner of war), embraces two large fresh water lochs near the sea inlet of Loch Ryan. The grounds are very extensive: previous to the war about seventy acres were kept under mowing machines. The isthmus between the two lochs, a ridge of light gravelly loam nowhere more than 100feet above sea level, has long been noted as an arboretum, chieflyof coniferous trees. It is here that the greater number of rhododendrons have been planted, although hundreds of fine specimens of Indian species, as well as some hybrids, are scattered along the shores of both lakes and through the surrounding woods. The soil and climate are most favourable to their growth, although much of the ground is too much exposed to win� to allow of their full luxuriance. The display of blossom in spring is remarkable, and promises to be exceptionally profuse in 1917. The collection was begun about sixty years ago, and is more noteworthy for the size and number of the plants than for the variety of species. Rb. arboreum in its various formsgreatly preponderates. This species was propagated in great numbers by the late Mr. Fowler, for very many years in charge of the gardens and grounds, and occurs in hundreds in all conditions of light, shade and wind exposure. Rh. campanulatum and niveum seem to have been among the earliest planted, while the less frequent species, Rh. Thomsoni, barbatum, Batemanni and nobile were probably contributed by Sir Joseph Hooker, who took much interest in the arboretum in its early years. Unfortunately the plants have been set so near each other that, in many places, they have interfered with their proper development. They now present many distressing problems, calling for stem resolution to sacrifice splendid growths in the interest of others of equal or superiormerit. Nor doesthe conflict lie only among rhododendrons. Conifers, Eucalyptus, Maples and other chQice trees, Eucryphia, Pittosporum, Arbutus, Desfontainea, and many other charming shrubs, have been allowed to form a jungle, competing with r:hododendrcms, and with each other •. A good deal has be�n done of late years, both by sacrificing fi�e plants of Indian rhododendrons, in orrlerto give room to others, and also by sweeping.away masses of· Rh. ponticum, which here, as in so many other places, has overrun an undue amount of ground. But this work has been greatly retarded. or suspended . owing to shortage of labour, in consequence of the war. Il Considerable numbers· ()f seedlings have been raised from the better species in the grounds, and thousands 'of these 'are growing vigorously in the nurseriesin charge of Mr. Hoggartu, forester, and Mr. Cruden, gardener, affording a convenient and desirable reservoir for exchange. tltbt l\bobobtnbton &ocittp J!ott.s. . I have measured, in November, 1916, some of the larger specimens. The heights given are approximate within a few inches, one way or another. It is difficult, even with a long red, to get the exact height of a dense growth such as rhododendrons :------· --·------�------ SPECIES. -- ··-·---1------1------HEIGHT. GIRTH OF STEM. RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM 21 ft.. . 23½ ins., straight single stem. " " (red) 20 ft. ( ins ... Five stems, thickest 26 ins. ,, .. (pink) 18 ft. Single stem, 28 ins. .. .. (white) 18 ft. Single stem, 261 ins . ,, " (white) 18 ft. Three main stems, 31, 271 and 23 ins. RHODODENDRON ClNNAIIIOMEUM 20 ft. 4 ins.. . Not measured. ,, u ROSEUM 12 ft.,a very 17 ins. (so named by Gill).. beautiful blossom. RHODODENDRON BARBATUM 17 ft. .. Many stems. RHODODENDRON FULGENS 8 ft.9 ins. Many stems. RHODODENDRON THOMSON! 10 ft. 10 ins. Profuse flowerer. RHODODENDRON NlVEUM 161 ft. 27 ins.below fork, at I ft. from ground. " .. 16 ft.6 ins ... Several stems . RHODODENDRON BATBMANNI 17 ft. Four stems, main one 32 ins. at 21 ft. " " 13 ft. Several stems, ex posed situation. RHODODENDRON NOBll..E 17 ft. 4 ins .•. Ten stems, largest 17 ins.at 3 ft . RHODODENDRON CAMPANULATUM . 20 ft.ti ins... 2( ins. below fork, at ll ft. 20 ft. I think Four main stems. .. .. this fine Girth below fork lant is a 64 ins., main stem �ybrid cam- above fork 26 ins. panulatum X arboreum or, mor e pr obably campanula- tum x cin- .. ··- ····-·-·"· ·-··-··--- . --'------....L-namomeum 28 I• �bt l\bobobtnbron �ocittp J!ott1. MONREITH, WIGTOWNSHIRE. CONTRIBUTED BY THE RIGHT HoN. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, Bart. The climate of this district is very favourable for rhododendrons, the land being intersected by the sea in several directions, ancl the soil is suitable, generally light loam, with plenty of peat and sand available. The chief adverse con ditions are violent winds and late spring frosts. Against the former we marshal such defences as we may ; against the latter no precautions avail. The season of 1916 has been very propitious for growth. The spring, though cold and backward, was completely free from frost later than 28th March. On that date the blooms of Ru. flARBATUM, ARB0REUM, PR,EC:0X and Nom,EANUM were destroyed, but no damage was done to the young growth of these or any other species. It was very different in 1915, when a May frost blackened the young shoots of these and other species. Of Wilson's Chinese seedlings we have as yet only flowered the following species here :- RH. PACHYTRICHUM, opened on lst March, pretty truss of rosy blossoms, foliage poor. Rn. DAVIDSONIANUM, opened 10th May, will probably be attractive when larger. Rn. LUTESCENS, of indifferent merit, without promise of the ornamental bark of Rh. Triflorum. Rn. AUGUSTINI, quite pretty, promising well when it increases in size, but the flowersappear only two or three together, not in a truss, Said to be variable in colour ; ours was a lively rose-lilac. Rn. INTRICATUM, flowers small, but numerous, and attractive from their violet colour. Rn. AMBIGUUM, not desirable, corolla washy yellow. RH. MICRANTHUM, opened on 10th July. Flowers white in small globular trusses, individually insignificant, but so abundant as to make this a desirable shrub, blooming when other rhododendrons are over, except the American Rh. maximum and viscosum. The following experience seems worthy of note. Hitherto, we have rerkoned among the many virtues of the genus Rhododendron that all species were immune from attack by hares and rabbits. Having grown RH. PRJEC0X for many years in ground fenced against these rodents, in the autumn of 1915, we planted half a dozen fine young bushes, three feet high, in a woodland opening. Hares arc by no means numerous; the farmers take care that they should not be so; but such as there were in that wood made hearty !'uppers off PRJEC0X. That hares were the marauders, not rabbits, was evident from the height at which the foliage had been devoured ; nor was it the work of roedeer, for the browsing was from the bottom upwards, the extreme tops being left untouched. 29 t!tbt l\bobobtnbron 6ocietp Jlotrs. In planting rhododendrons out in grass, we find it essential to keep the soil free of grass and weeds for some distance round the stem, until the shrub has grown strong and dense enough to destroy the herbage under its own shade. Where the grounds are extensive and the plants numerous it is difficult to get this attenp.ed to, especially in these days when labour is so scarce. We have, therefore, adopted with advantage the plan of placing a heavy mulch of cut grass round the young shrubs, taking care not to Jet it touch the st,mis, This serves the double purpose of preventing fresh growth of grass, and of screening the roots from scorching sun. RHODODENDRON BATEMANNI. I have given the dimensions of two fine specimens of this grand species at Castle Kennedy, where it was probably sent by Sir Joseph Hooker, about fifty years ago. It is the earliest of all the large leaved species to flower, except the hybrid NoBLEANUM. It began to flower in January, 1916, and when I saw it in February, it was a splendid sight, covered with crimson bloom. The species was described and figured in the" BOTANICAL MAGAZINE," Vol. ., p. RHODODENDRON NOBILE. This species also appears to have been sent by Sir Joseph Hooker to Castle Kennedy, but I can find no reference to it in any work on Indian plants. · It flowers in late April and May, bright carmine. The foliage alone would justify the specifictitle NOBILE, for it is very rich. The leaves set on green petioles about half inch long, and rounded at the base measure from 6 to 7 inches long and ll to 2 inches broad; upper surface rather light green, not shining, with shallow transverse ripple marks running from the midrib to the margins: the backs clothed with pale fawn tomentum. Many seedlings have been raised at Castle Kennedy from the original plant ; but it must always be doubtful whether the ovaries have not been affectedby the proximity of hundreds of other plants of several species flowering a.t the same time. Two, which I have, however, now 3 or 4 feet high have the characteristic foliage, but have not yet Bowered. In 1915, Lady Stair sent flowers and foliage of Rb. Nobile to Mr. Watson, of Kew, for identification. In reply, Mr. Watson wrote that there were specimens of it in Wallich's Herbarium, as named by him, but some one elsemade it out to be a natural hybrid between Rh. campanulatum and Rh. barbatum. It was collected wild in Bhotan. If it is a hybrid, it is strange that it should .come true frorn seed. Mr. T. Smith, of Newry, seems to have a large stock of RHODODENDRON cILIATUM, at a moderate price, viz., 12 for 30/-. Those which he sent me are very fine plants. Last year I obtained from Messrs. Thyne, of Dundee, a herbaceous plant which is not commonly offered, viz .• ANEMONOPSIS MACROPHYLLA, at 1 /- each. 30 «bt l\bobobtnbron �ocittp J!otts. SOME NOTES ON RHODODENDRON ARBOREUJ\t AND ITS CULTURE IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. CONTRIBUTED BY LIEUT.-COMMi\NDER J. G. MJLLAIS. It is probable that many Engli:c:hmcn of the ol 31 in the gardens of those, like myself, living in a lessfavourable climate, have to use some ingenuity in its cultivation, and some selection in the varieties which we grow or try to succeed with. It is true that the species may be well grawn even in the "dry belt" from· Sussex to Northumberland. This statement, however, requires a good deal of modification. If we take a line roughly from East Devon to East Cumberland, we come into an area of England where the climate is everywhere (except along the actual south coast line), much colder and drier than to the west. Except too on certain high ridges such as the green�sand belt from Hants to Dorking, we experience nearlyevery year inMarch and April the frosts that ought properly to have occurred m January �o early March. Roughly speaking, therefore, RH. ARBOREU!.l has to endure with us, as a ntle, such unfavourable conditions just at the very season when it is putting forth its flowers or starting its young growth, i.e., March to April. Wherefore, it is much easier to succeed with the species at Muncaster Castle, in West Cumberland, where it grows well every yeal'J and is hardly ever cut like it is much further south, say at Horsham, in Sussex, where we often get a drought and 12° of frost on April 10th. Another great disadvantage is that in many seasons, certainly of late years, we have droughts in July, August. and September, which are seldom· experienced in the western counties, and plants of RH. ARBOREUM not situated in very choice positions and heavily mulched with decaying leaves suffer accordingly. However, with all these drawbacks, we have to swallow our disappointment when our plants get" cut "or dried up in two seasons out of every five, and will persevere with some measure of success. So great too is the recuperativefaculty of this noble rhododendron, that if we are so fortunate as to get a really good p-owing spring once in every three years as we generally do, that loss of fitness 11 soon made good,·and our plants recover, although they m�y not respond with quite somuch vigour as in the gardens of our westernfriends. To thosewho live in le11 favourable areas and who are anxious to experiment with the different varieties (or natural-hybrids) of the true species, I append a list of those which are now in cultivation with remarks on the suitability or difficulty of culture in cold or " dry-belt " gardens. Reference is only made to the ftower1, and to the hardiness or otherwise of the several varieties. RH. ARBOREUM (type). Colour of flowers varying from white to deepest crimson-scarlet. The white form, VAR. ALBUM, is not one of the hardiest or the easiest to grow. When mature it suffers much from overftowering, and should be freely dis-budded. Of this colour the variety VAR. C:INNAMONEUM is the hardiest and easiest to grow and doesfairly well even at Kew. .Most of the pinks, such as '1 Lady Falmouth." '' Rosamund Millais," crispum. roseum, Wearii, and a host of others unnamed, are hardy and easy to grow. The same may be said of those of deep rose colour. When we come to the red and deep-blood reds, the case is altogether different. for with few exceptions these are very tender, and it seems to be unfortunately the case that the finer the variety the more delicate it is. Mr. F. D. Godman has a beautiful deep-red that I should call hardy, for it never seems to be cut in his garden at South Lodge, Horsham, where it has stood over twenty-five years. 32 f' t!tbt l\bobobtnbron &ocidp .flotts. On the other hand, all the fine varieties sent out by Gill, Reuthe, Smith of ... Guernsey, and other nurserymen are, except with protection and very great care in selection of site, not even winter hardy. On the other hand the variety KERMESINUM, which many good judges consider the best of all, makes its growth late, and seldom gets cut in spring, although it too is very winter tender. Personally, after succeeding with it for years, six good plants which I possessed are now destroyed. This should not, however, deter others who possess better an . RH. CAMPANULATUM var. CAMPBELLI. We need not discuss the origin of this fine plant; which is probably a natural hybrid between Ru. ARBOREUM and RH. CAMPANULATUM. Its fine leaves and large truss of lovely pink flowersplaces it at oncein the front rank of hardy shrubs. It flowers in April, andseems quite hardy. RH. BODARTIANUM (R. Smithii album of Kew). Those also who cannot grow any white Arboreum will find this a colourable substitute. It bears large trusses of white ftowen in April, and never gets its young growth cut. RH. jACKSONI (Syn. venustum). A hybrid between RH. ARBOREUM and RH. CAUCASICUl'tf. A lovely dwarf pink flowered shrub for the front edge of borders. Quite hardy. Those who desire to plant this shrub (which is extremely cheap), in masses, will do well to break up the effect with such bardy dwarfs as Rh. Jac�soni var. album or Rh. "Handsworth Early White,'' and if red is required, Rh. IIHands worth Early Red." The two last named are pcdectly hardy, and the whole group combined with a few plants .of RH. AR BORE UM var. WELLSIANUM (red), and this low hardy dwarf will form a brilliant sight in April, in places where the more tender varieties_of RH. ARBOREVM will not flourish. J. G. MILLAIS, Lieut.-Commander. NOTES ON THE GARDEN OF RIVERHILL, SEVENOAKS. CONTRIBUTED BY LIEUT.-CoioNEL J. M. ROGERS. As I have been soldiering for the past two years, until the last thne months, and have only seen my garden since October, I fear that I cannot contribute anything of general interest. I have. here a good many Himalayan species between seventy and eighty years old, including Falconeri, niveum, barbatum, Thomsoni, lanatum, fulgens, companulatum of several varieties, Hodgsoni and arboreum. Several of thete have died recently, and I am struck with the deterioration of many otbtn during the last two years. It looks to me as if this period,-seventy to eighty years, was abo'!lt the usual life of these plants in this country, though I know nothing of their longevity at home. The principal enemy here is drought. Late frotts, though spoiling the show of bloom, do not seem to me to damage the plants. In 1916, Dahuricum was in full flower about l�th January, and precox at its best at the end of the month. These bad an exceptionally good mnings, as there was not frost during their flowering time. Aucklandi has three blooms in the open for the first time here, the plant is about ten years old. A home-grown seedling of Mimosa dealbata also flowered profusely for the first time, and did not suffer from the blizzard of 27th March, which caught it in flower. Of Chinese species the following flowered :�lutescens, Harrovianum, concinnum and decorum (Spooncri). None of these are of much account, and the last a distinct disappointment, as it is very inferior to Fortunei at present, and the scent is hardly perceptible. I have a good many of Wilson's latest to exchange if anyone wants some, as my nursery has got very congested from want of labour, and I should like to know where I can get several Intricatums. J. M. ROGERS. . 36 NOTES ON RHODODENDRONS AT ROSTREVOR HOUSE, CO. DOWN. CoNTJUBUTED BY LIEUT.-Coi.oNEL SIR JoHN Ross OF BLADENSBURG> K.C.B. I regret I did not understand that the first set of notes were to be sent to the Rhododendron Society at the end of last year. I imagined they were not due till the end of. this year, and it is only now that I have found out my mistake. I regret it the more, since not only have I deprived myself of the pleasure of preparing these notes in time, but also because it is not easy to put something hast�y together that may be of interest ·to the members, and it is impossible to give an account of any garden recently visit�d, except my own. These notes will therefore., I. fear, .be of lit tie vcllue. . This place·is well sheltered, and the soil is favourable to the cultivation of all trees and shrubs, and as it contains no trace of lime it is well adapted to Rhododendrons. Generally speaking we enjoy a mild winter and often have no more than four to six degrees of frost, and then only for quite short periods. We nearly always have however disagreeable spring frosts, and these are too often destructive and troublesome. I always fear the weather of March and April more thanthat of the dead of winter, and it is then that the plants seem to suffer most. Our summers are never very hot, and our autumns are really fine and enjoyable, and this helps to ripen the year·sgrowth satisfactorily. But the year 1916 was not a good one, and wasan exception to our usual conditions.· We had a cold summer, a very wet and miserable autumn, and now a most severe winter, nothing like it I think since 189f�96. In consequence, we have little flowernow, the winter rhododendrons have no chance of showing their beauty. RH. MUCRONULATUlrf pushes out an occasional bloom when the weather pennitt, and Re. NOBLEANUM is so pinched and starved that it only products litt.le points of red colour, looking more like undeveloped rose buds than trussesof rhododendron flower. HAMANELIS MOLLIS is one of the few plants that bravely exhibits its bloom despite the cold and the inclement weather. Notwithstanding the unfavourable conditions prevailing, the rhododendrons have all done fairly well, and fortunately I have lost none. RH. BARBATUII, CILUCAL vx, DALHOUSI,£, EDGEWORTHII, LANATUM, etc., reputed somewhat tender in some places, have up to now shown no signs of distress. I had RH. NUTTALLU out for some years, but as it was not growing satisfactorily, we luckily brought it in and put it in a large pot, and it bas not been subjected to the present frost. I observed that some of the rhododendrons which flowered well in former years, and which appear to be in perfect health, did not flower properly or at all, last season. Among them I may mention RH. INTRICATUM, KEISUI, RIRIEI, SoOLIEI, and SPINULIFERUM, also I think RH. THOJ.1SONI and RUBIGINOSUM, which is usually smothered in bloom. I observed the same thing with a fine specimen of LEPTOSPERMUM NICHOLi, now some ten feet high, and which is always covered with red> giving the impression, if looked at from a distance, as if it were painted with bullock's blood.- But, generally speaking, everything else flowere There are a certain number of the newer rhododendrons from Central China iI i.. here, but they are many of them still small, and I am not in a position yet to say much about them, except that as far as foliage is concerned, some of them seem to be very remarkable and beautiful, and will, undoubtedly, be a great and pleasing addition to our garden in future. Some species of this group, introduced earlier, like RH. SUTCHUENSE, flower in March, when we are troubled with spring frosts, and in consequence I have but an imperfect knowledge of the bloom, but as the plants grow it is to be hoped that the inconvenience may diminish, and I have seen enough to make me anxious for a good view of these plants in their full dress. Rh. Augustinii flowers later, and this is a happy circumstance, as I look upon it as quite one o( the best that have come to us from Central China. Some few yearsago I got RH. CEPHALANTHUM from Messrs. Seidel, from near Dresden. It is a very desirable little species, somewhat after the nature of RH. ANTH0P0G0N, but differing from it both in flower, which ii pure white, and in leaf. I do not know where else it can be got, and if, as I ani led to believe, it is rare in cultivation, it.is to be feared we are not likely to get it again, at least from Germany. It is to be hoped we may obtain seed from it. One of the best plants here is a specimen of RH. GRIFFITHIANUM, which is now thirteen feet high, and the same through, and this is really a fine sight in the flowering season, and also when the young growth appears upon the plant. The bloom is well known, like a cluster of great lilies with a slight aromatic scent and more beautiful by far I think than any .of the numerous hybrids which have been raised from it, and which are so justly esteemed. We had a good deal of trouble with this plant when it was first put out and when it was some three feet high. Though placed in a sheltered dell our springs were too harsh, and it was repeatedly injured. We then put a sort of muslin tent over it from, say, February to May, and gradually it increased in size and in vigour, and when it got some six or seven feet high it was quite strong enough to fend for itself. It is now left without any covering of any sort, and it flowers regularly and plentifully. RH. MADDEN! and its two varieties, CAL0PHYLLUM and JENKINSII, live here very happily. I have not had the type for long, and it is still $mall, but the varieties have been here longer and give out their sweet scent when in flower. Rh. camellireflorum is another of my special favourites, and so is Rh. lepidotum. There are also some of the Edgeworth hybrids that seem quite at home, and I may mention that RH. SHILSON1 (barbatum x Thomsoni), flowered here for the first time last year. lam interested in two rhododendrons which appear to be somewhat alike, and I am not sure whether they are different species or not ; they are, however, not the same thing, and they may be only varieties of the same species. One was bought under the name of RH. KINGIANUM, which comes from Manipur, and the other was raised from seed that came from Ceylon, under the name of RH. ZEYLANICUM (or more properly RH. R0LLISSONII). The leaves of these rl two plants are very similar, but quite distinct from any other rhododendron I i have seen. I do not know if these two species resemble each other, and, ,. therefore, whether my Rh. Kingianum is true to name Qr not. 37 tltbe l\lJobobtnbron f,odttp J}otts. . There is here a small specimen of Ra. FALCONERI, and a larger one of RH. EXIMIUM, which is held by some to be a variety of the former, and which I think is one of the best of the genus. It flowers in April, and appears to make no further movement until July. when it begins to push. The young growth is then covered with a brown tomemtum that remains on the plant until November, giving it a very remarkable and beautiful appearance and making it a con spicuous object all through the autumn. I have never flowered RH. OVATUM. PLANCH (to distinguish this rather rare Chinese species from a more common hybrid of the same name), though I have had the plant for a good many years; it seems to grow slowly, and yet the specimen I have is quite healthy, but perhaps it is placed in too dry a spot which may account for its being more backward than ought to be the case. Its young growth however is very striking and pleasing. being of a purple violet colour, ·and this compensates to some extent for the want of bloom, and at a distance gives the appearance of flower. The two Caucasian Rhododendrons SMIRNOWI and UNGERNI are both here; the latter has the strange and rather disappointing peculiarity of flowering after it has made its growth, and in this respect it differs from every other species. The leaves of both are handsome and well covered on the undersides with a thick white woolly wad. There is also a hybrid here (Smimowi x ponticum, I think) ; it has the appearance of the ordinary ponticum or Rose-Bay, but the flower is red like that of the other parent. There is one other rhododendron I should like to allude to, and I only do so because I do not know.what it is exactly. It came here without a name, and is evidently one of the many varieties of Rn. ARBOREU?wl. Its foliage is identically the same as that of VAR. CINNAMONEU:M, and I thought it was it, but the flower is red not white. It is not VAR. NII.AGHIRICUM, which has, as Ithink, a far finer colour than any other form of that species. If I may in conclusion make an allusion to a plant, not a rhododendron, which appears to be hardy in a sheltered district, and to be well worthy of a place where it will live, I should like to mention PROSTANTHERA LASIANTHOS, coming from Australia. I venture to do this as I do not think it is sufficiently ·well known. The plant here is some thirteen feet high, and in July it is a sheet of bloom. It is a handsome evergreen with sweet smelling leaves, flowers in closely packed clustets,white, each a third of an inch across, with a well-markeu purple throat. It has been here about ten years, and as it appears to be uninjured, up to now, by the present severe weather, although planted in the open, I hope it may be really hardy and more generally cultivated in favoured districts than has been the case before. JOHN. ROSS OF BLADENSBURG. 5th Feb,uary, 1917. 38 Gtbt l\bobobtnbron 6otittp j!otrf. NOTES ON CHINESE RHODODENDRONS AS GROWN IN CORNWALL. CONTRIBUTED BY P. D. WILLIAMS. In these few notes I do not propose in any way to give botanical detail, but merely to jot down someof my personal impressions of the garden value of a few of the Chinese Rhododendrons. In some cases this impression will be the result of seeing several years flowering, but in others the experience is much more limited. LARGE LEAVED FORMS. (To beat their best these ought to have absolute shelter from wind.) Among them RH. CAL0PHYTUM seems to have the handsomest flower, and is probably one of the most remarkable of all Chinese rhododendrons, It flowers in CornwaJl in April. The trnss is large (I think I have counted twenty-eight ,.I bells), somewhat pyramidical in form, but hollow at the top. The attractive rosy-red bells have in some forms a heavy crimson blotch, and the long pedicels are scarlet. It is a plant apparently of good hahit, and a striking one even when it is not in flower. It flowered in Cornwall when six years old, which is early for the large type of rhododendron. RH. SUTCHUENENSE. This is another with a large leaf. In Comish gardens it flowers usually in March. In my experience it is much more variable in colour and markings than calophytum, and the truss is flatter. Some forms have a very heavy crimson blotch, and others are speckled with green. In colour the bell itself varies from pale mauve to pink or even white. The flowerseems to be very susceptible to frost, although it is often under the foliage. The plant is of low spreading habit, and flowered even more quickly from the seed than caJophyturn. RH. AURICULATUM. This seems to be much the latest grower and flowerer among the Chinese rhododendrons, sometimes not commencing its growth before September. The scented truss is very loose, and the pink or white bells quite large. It seems to be on the lines of Rh. Fortunei, and the plant should be valuable as a breeder. The young growth is most attractive. It was slow to begin flowering with us. I will now take some of the small flowered varieties,which seem likely to be at their best grown in clumps, rather than as individual plants. In almost every case these will strike freely in July or August, and it appears desirable to select a good form, and then to increase one's plants to form a group. RH. LUTESCENS. Although .hardy in Cornwall, it flowen; and starts into growth so early that it is doubtful if it will prove to be useful in colder districts. The flowers are yellow, somewhat on the lines of Triflorum, but varying con siderably in shade of colour. The young growth is very beautiful, in some forms being quite crimson. The habit of the plants is straggly, inclined to beupright. In a group it is quite desirable in the milder parts of England. 39 l:bt l\bobobtnbron 6ocittp J}otts. RH. P0LYLEPIS or HARROVIANUM.. This appears to be a poor thing, very upright in habit, flowers small, purple. It flowers in April, and seems quite hardy. RH. L0NGISTYLUM seems very near to micranthum. The flowers in small trusses, white, and very early in February. The habit and leaf are nice, but the early flowering makes it unlikely that it will be a successful plant for gardens. RH. YuNNANENSE and RH. CHARTOPflYLLUM PUCOX are apparently much on the same lines. They are extremely floriferous,the forms varying from mauve with crimson spots to white with crimson blotch. Plants upright, fairly rigid .and semi-evergreen. They are at their best in .May, and undoubtedly are a great acquisition. They seem to be more successful in the sun than many rhododendrons, but are free growers anywhere. RH. DAVIDSONIANU:M is closely allied to the above, but is nearly evergreen, and the mauve bell seems to be rarely spotted or blotched. RH. AUGUSTINU flowers are larger than Yunnanense, and vary from pale mauve to dark lavender purple. Some of the flowers are most attractive, but perhaps want careful placing. The plant is evergreen, and for habit is much on the lines of Yunnanense,, b�t not quite so rigid. It flowers in May, and good forms are well worth growing. Rn. 0RE0TREPHES (see illustration in R.H.S. Journal, for October, 1916, p. 33). This again is a good garden plant. The mauve flowers are not so striking as the remarkable glaucous foliage which in some of the forms is quite unusual. The habit of the plant is good. RH. HANCEANUM is a low straggly evergreen shnib of no great merit. The ink tinge, are somewhat flowers. of a poor ivory-white or dull yellow with r absorbed by the protruding stamens. 1 have heard o a good yellow form,but I have not teen one. RH. TRICH0CLADUM. Deciduous. The sntall r.ellow flowers are not in any way remarkable, but the grey hairy leaf (often with crimson blotches), is very attractive in the young state. RH. MOUPINENSE flowers in February, too early to be a valuable plant, but if it escapes frost it is most beautiful. The flowers are scented and vary very much in colouring. Some forms have almost crimson buds which fade to nearly white, others are white with yellow, crimson, or even purple spots. The plant is hardy, but of a poor habit and very brittle. RH. OVATUM is quite one of the most attractive of the small flowered rhododendrons. The ftowers in my experience ·are pink with small spots, but I believe there are other forms. The evergreen leaves and the young growth are both very fascinating. The habit is good. I believe it was introduced by Fortune, but it had become so scarce, and it is so attractive that its re-introduction is most welcome. P. D. WILLIAMS. Vn